New Delhi, Aug. 12: Judicial proceedings in the alleged NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak case moved into the next stage on Wednesday after a Delhi court took cognisance of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheet against 13 accused, with hearings on framing of charges scheduled to begin from Thursday.
The matter came before the specially designated Fast Track Court at the Rouse Avenue Courts Complex, established exclusively to hear cases registered under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and related offences. The case is among the first major matters to be taken up by the newly constituted court.
The CBI filed its chargesheet on July 28 against all 13 arrested accused, alleging that confidential NEET-UG question papers were leaked before the examination held on May 3, 2026. According to the investigating agency, the alleged operation involved National Testing Agency (NTA) subject experts, middlemen, coaching operators and others.
The chargesheet alleges that three NTA subject experts responsible for translation, back-translation and proofreading exploited security gaps to remove confidential examination content from the NTA office in Delhi.
According to the CBI, accused P.V. Kulkarni allegedly copied all 135 Chemistry questions along with their answer options onto small slips of paper and concealed them while leaving the confidential section. The agency further alleged that Manisha Gurunath Mandhare reconstructed examination questions at her hotel room using her familiarity with NCERT textbooks, while Manisha Sanjay Havaldar allegedly noted Physics questions in brief after returning to her accommodation.
The investigation also points to alleged shortcomings in security arrangements at the NTA office. The CBI stated that experts entering and exiting the confidential section were not subjected to frisking or physical checks. It further alleged that CCTV footage was retained for only 20 to 25 days and that no dedicated control room existed to monitor live surveillance of the confidential section.
To support its case, the CBI has cited 360 witnesses, 422 documents and 43 material objects.
The accused have been chargesheeted under Sections 315(5), 318(4), 61(2), 238 and 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
The CBI registered the case on May 12 following a complaint from the Department of Higher Education under the Union Ministry of Education regarding alleged irregularities and leakage of confidential NEET-UG question papers. The original examination conducted on May 3 was subsequently cancelled, and a fresh examination was held on June 21 under enhanced security arrangements.
All 13 chargesheeted accused remain in judicial custody.
The Delhi High Court constituted the special Fast Track Court on July 23 following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of dedicated courts for the speedy trial of examination paper leak cases. Judicial officer Anu Grover Baliga was appointed as Special CBI Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act), and the High Court directed that all pending cases under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and connected offences be transferred to the newly created court with immediate effect.
